Crossbar Traverse

Stepped off the radiator ledge onto the floor. Crossed the open floorboards to reach a folding wooden clothes drying rack. Multiple parallel dowels. Angled joints pinned with silver rivets. Tested the lowest rung with my left hand. Pressed downward. Frame swayed half an inch, then settled against the carpet. Slotted fingers around the smooth pine cylinder. Lifted my legs. Cords in my spine stretched, holding tension against gravity. Swung one heel upward over the crossing hinge. The structure creaked softly under the shifted load, but held. Recalibrated my grip to the higher bar. Elevated. A broad view of the rug below.